running Archives - Page 2 of 87 - Preppy Runner

So, remember how I was going to Miami to run a half?

Yeahâ€¦I didnâ€™t run it.

It basically came down to this: we just didnâ€™t want to do it. And how often in life can you just not do something because you donâ€™t feel like it with no further consequences than money youâ€™ve already spent?

We went for a run Friday morning, and it was brutal: hot, humid, sunny. Tough when youâ€™re used to those conditions, basically hell when youâ€™re not. We spent the next day filled with uncertainty over the race, and finally last night decided that we just wouldnâ€™t do it. It was really hot (glorious for laying out, not so much for runners from NY not acclimated to these conditions), none of us had been training much and we would have had to wake up at 3:30 or 4 to make it to the 6:15 start time. No thanks! (Meggie said it well, too.)

And not a single second of remorse was had. We woke up around 7:30 this morning and went out for a little run of our own. No bibs, no Garmins, just the four of us and the beach. Perfect. Afterwards, we headed back and took classes at the resort. Canyon Ranch=adult camp, basically. Thereâ€™s fitness classes all day long. I took a yoga class, which was a bit more athletic than Iâ€™d realized. There were lots of deep, deep stretches that hurt like hell and really got into your muscles.

The rest of the weekend was lovely and relaxing.

Friday was spent lounging at the pool, and then going to Joeâ€™s Stone Crab for dinner. Weâ€™d all heard a lot about it, and wanted to try it. The crab was delicious, but the prices seemed a little incongruous with the decor and ambiance (which seemed like it would be more suitable for Disney World.)

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Saturday, Gia had a meeting downtown so I tagged along, eager to do at least a little exploring of Miami, knowing that weâ€™d be spending most of the rest of the afternoon at the expo and the pool. Her meeting was at Panther Coffee, which I heard great things about. I didnâ€™t stop in, so that I wasnâ€™t the total sketchball crashing her meeting.

I walked around the Wynwood area for a bit, ducking in and out of shops, and just taking some time to meander and take in the water. It was such a nice, recharging solo morning.

We went to the expo, which was PACKED. We did our best to get in and out so we could get back to the resort for more pool + class time.

The four of us all have a lot of big things going in our lives, and we decided at dinner that we just needed some time to chill and not push ourselves to get up early and run a race none of us wanted to runâ€¦so we didnâ€™t.

You might think that we then decided to go out and have a wild night in South Beachâ€¦but weâ€™re old. We drank some wine and were in bed by 10, and it was amazing. (Yes, we are caricatures of all of those Buzzfeed articles about people in their 30s.)

And now I return to NYC, where itâ€™s hopefully going to be a bit warmer this week. Even if it isnâ€™t, I had a nice little break getting away from the cold.

Have you ever totally just bailed on a race like this?Â Did it feel this great?

People, here come the end of the year posts! Go ahead and X out now if you really want.

I saw Miss Zippy’s survey on Jess‘ blog and thought it was a fun idea. Here’s my answers last year.

This year was a year of chasing down and achieving PRs thanks to a coach who helped me turned big dreams into reality.

Best Race Experience:

I know you’d think I’d say NYCM here, but when I think of NYCM, all I can think of are those tough 3-4 miles at the end. I still have no desire to run a marathon last year. Marathons are hard.

So I’m going to say the D.C. Half! I had fairly low expectations. I just wanted to PR a little, but I PRed by 5 minutes and felt awesome pretty much the whole time.

Runner up: NYCM, duh. The first 20 miles were amazing, and the results were amazing, but those last 6 were really hard.

Best run:

It would have to be that time that I ran a 10K, ran 11 miles and then ran a mile race. I accidentally PRed, then ran 11, then ran that mile sub-7. It was so empowering to push through all of this. I felt like such a badass at the end! It started to give me a lot more confidence for my marathon.

Runner-up: Philly Half! It was just one hour and fifty-five minutes of loving running.

Best new piece of gear:

These New Balance 880v3s. Just because they’re pretty, I’m not going to lie. I mean, they’re functional, too, but I love them most for looks.

Best piece of running advice:

Just go run. Over the summer, my running was a massive pile of suck. I didn’t want to run because every time I looked at my watch, I hated what it said. Mentally, I really needed some good runs as a release, and they just weren’t happening. Detaching from all of that and just making myself get out there made things much better.

Most inspirational runner:

I’d have to say my buddy Jocelyn. I’m so impressed and inspired by her improvement over the past year or so. Last year, she ran Chicago in 4:03, ran a low 3:50-something last fall, high 3:40s in Eugene, and was seconds away from BQing this fall. That’s nearly a 30 minute improvement in less than a year. I am SO impressed and inspired by this, especially since we were around the same speed last year. It makes me think big things are possible if I believe in myself and work hard.

If you could sum up your year in a couple of words, what would they be?

I have to say first, I haven’t yet sipped the Oiselle Kool-Aid, but Go Fast, Take Chances sums up my year of running. I ran faster than I ever ever thought I could because I was willing to take that chance. My goal races could have blown up in my face, and I could have had terrible days, but I took the chance that if I trained hard, I could achieve big goals…and I did.